Loose Ends Tangling Down
by Descending Rainfall
Summary: The path to walking amongst the moon and sun and stars, and those that stray off it every now and then. A story of kings and queens and commoners and everyone in between. HyoteiOC female team.
1. World Rewritten

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi.

 **A/N** : Hey everyone! As you can see, I've decided that there are things about _From Sky High_ that I was becoming quite frustrated with, but rather than scrapping everything entirely, I wanted to start fresh and give it a rewrite, but under a different title.

There are going to be several major changes in this rewrite, and some of the characters may have experienced significant personality changes as well. I even adjusted a few names, too, but all the main characters will still have the same names. Hopefully, you'll find this to be a more refined and maturely written read compared to _From Sky High_.

As of now, I'm quite happy with my two one-shots and _All Your What Ifs_ , so those will all stay up. I promise that AYWI will be updated one of these days, but not until I've gotten to a certain point in this rewrite.

So, all I have left to say is; enjoy!

* * *

 **~xXx~**

" _Loose ends, they tangle down_

 _And then take flight_

 _But never tie me down_

 _But never tie me down_."

—Greg Laswell, _Off I Go_

 **~xXx~**

* * *

"No," Atobe stated flatly, slamming his book shut with more force than necessary. "You asked me this question two months ago, and I said no. Today, I say no again. If you ask me in a year's time, I'm still going to say no. So quit this incessant persistence already, or else you'll be stripped of your title as head of the newspaper committee."

The school newspaper girl—was her name Iseki or something?—narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the first part of Atobe's statement, but by his last sentence she turned as pale as a sheet. With a small jump, she muttered a hasty apology before making a beeline for the door.

At the exact moment Iseki dashed out, Oshitari smoothly entered, a single brow raised in mild interest. "Newspaper committee again?" The blue-haired boy guessed, seating himself in the chair before Atobe's desk. "Is that Iseki still trying to get the dirt on you and Akechi-san?"

Atobe rolled his eyes. "That better have been the last time," he muttered darkly. "Don't those people know when something's not their goddamn business? Honestly, the nosiness of the common folk these days absolutely astounds me," Atobe pinched the bridge of his nose in weariness, breathing in deeply and letting out a loud sigh.

"Watch it, oh King," Oshitari shot back. " _I'm_ one of those common folk, in case you don't remember."

"Yes, well you just so happen to be rather exceptional for a commoner, Oshitari. You don't forget your position and are somewhat of a decent human being."

"I'm so honored to hear your praise," Oshitari said just as the bell rang, signaling the start of school. With a disgruntled sigh, he stood up and offered Atobe a tired smile. "Well, on the bright side, we're officially third years now. Last year of high school."

 _Last year of tennis_ , were the words that both boys heard. Atobe wasn't stupid. He knew that for the majority of the boys' tennis team, this would be their last year. Perhaps it would be Atobe's last year as well.

"Last year of high school, indeed," Atobe echoed, reluctantly getting up from his comfy swivel chair. "Such a shame we're not in the same class this year, though."

Oshitari glanced at his friend darkly. "Atobe…you saw the updated class lists, right? So you know that she switched out of Class A?"

An icy fist curled around Atobe's heart as he struggled not to strangle the other boy. Of course he'd seen the rosters, and of course he'd immediately picked up on the fact that _she_ had switched out of his class. The class that they were supposed to have been in together, but now they just weren't. He'd known that she'd do that long before he'd even checked the updates, because she always, _always_ ran away.

"So what?" Atobe replied with fake breeziness. He waved a hand nonchalantly, said, "Yuuka can do whatever she wants. Neither she nor her actions concern me."

 _Except they do_ , he added privately to himself as he strode out of his private office.

 **~xXx~**

 _Click!_

Startled, Shun jerked up from her book so violently that she straight up fell out of her chair. With a muffled groan, she looked up to find the lens of a camera peeking at her.

"Seriously, Fukumitsu? It's been six years and I'm still not used to that," Shun shook her head while secretly smiling on the inside, knowing very well that it was impossible to escape Fukumitsu Erena and her camera.

"My apologies," Erena dipped her head respectfully, a hint of her trademark close-mouthed smile on her face. "But it's tradition, you see. I've already gotten one of Tsukiko, and I plan on getting Yuuka at lunch. She's an elusive one, that Yuuka, but I always find a way to catch her."

Shun's spirits immediately sank at the mention of Yuuka. "I'm assuming Akechi's going about her morning like nothing happened, like she's just oh so used to screwing with other peoples' lives?" She muttered darkly.

"Careful," Erena warned, her green eyes flickering up to the classroom door. "Atobe-san's in our class, you know. Maybe you two can bond this year over your qualms about Yuuka, but she's still one of my best friends."

 _She doesn't deserve friends like you and Sorano._ Shun wanted to shout, but as always, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Erena was a drifter at heart, because she'd only go to wherever her camera led her. But for as long as Shun had known her, she still didn't quite know if they were friends, or if Erena even cared about her outside of her tennis.

(But really, Shun hoped that Erena and Tsukiko considered her as a friend.)

"Anyway," Erena shrugged, gracefully floating down into her chair. Her desk was right in front of Shun's, and Erena's tall stature would surely block the board during class. "Sign ups are today, and Tsukiko's expecting you to be there. We can't start without our vice captain, after all."

Shun stifled a groan. "I still don't get why Miura-sensei would appoint me, then just leave like that." _Actually, I do_.

"It's because you're a highly esteemed individual whose antisocial behavior masks a truly beautiful soul deep inside," Erena deadpanned, smiling her close-mouthed smile again. "Cheer up, though. Only one more year, and then you won't have to deal with us anymore, Himura."

The mention of their last year sank Shun's spirits even more. Of course she couldn't wait to leave behind everything. If she'd had her way, she would have taken the next plane out of the country like three of her siblings had, but she'd stayed for her youngest brother, Taiki. God knew that their father would do to him if only Taiki remained in Japan, and Shun was determined to keep Taiki happy for as long as possible.

If only there were a way to make everyone happy, though. Shun had been searching for that answer since she was twelve, and now, at seventeen-closely-nearing-eighteen, she wasn't any closer to finding it.

 **~xXx~**

Oh, _hell._

Of course this had to be the day Anna happened to leave late, and of course this also happened to be the exact moment the homeroom teacher was assigning the seating. Once the teacher rested her eyes on Anna, she pointed to a double desk by the window and said, "Hayashi, you go sit over there."

And that was how Hayashi Anna became seat partners with Oshitari Yuushi.

If she were any other girl, Anna probably should have been happy. Yes, Oshitari was damn attractive, and it could have been much worse, but it could have been much better, too. Anna had been in same class as Oshitari since their third year of middle school, but her initial thoughts of him hadn't changed much since then. From the moment she saw him give her an once-over, Anna had known that he was too suave, too naturally flirtatious for her tastes. Maybe he was actually a nice person after all, and maybe he really wasn't all that bad, but Anna was stubborn and not swayed very easily.

It didn't help that she'd stumbled upon him making out with some random girl on the staircase last year. _Literally_ stumbled over him, because Oshitari and the girl had been so entangled that they may as well have been having sex right there and then. Anna had been so immersed in conversation with her friend that she'd tripped over Oshitari, and that fall down the stairs had given her a concussion. And he never even apologized for it, nor even tried to check up on her in the slightest. So screw Oshitari. She should have sent him the medical bill.

She must have been glaring at him while she recounted the story in her head, because Oshitari was giving her a funny look as he sat down. "Is there something wrong, Hayashi-chan?" He asked, a small smirk developing on his lips.

Anna really wanted to clock him in the face at the _-chan_. Instead, she shook her long golden hair out of its braid so it created a curtain between her and Oshitari. "Oh, I'm fine. But, I mean, you gave me a concussion last year and didn't apologize, so I think there must be something wrong with you," she drawled sarcastically, pleased at the venom in her tone.

Suddenly, she felt something brush her hair out of the way, something that felt calloused but gentle. "Haven't you ever heard of making eye contact with someone during conversation?" Oshitari remarked, coolly lifting a brow at her.

 _Two can play at this game_. With a cloying smile, Anna clasped her hand over his and leaned in so close to Oshitari's face that she could see little flecks of brown in his blue eyes. "Is this what you had in mind, then?" She murmured in a sultry whisper, pleased by the slight widening of his pupils.

A light laugh broke Anna out of her reverie. "Since when did you two become such good friends?" a pretty girl with wavy dark red hair smiled teasingly. "Wasn't Oshitari-san the one who got you concussed, Anna?"

Oshitari tilted his head in confusion. "I did?" He mused, clearly having forgotten the story entirely.

Anna just rolled her eyes at him. "You're in our class, Sorano? Maybe you can save me from this torturous seating situation," she commented, ignoring Oshitari's indignant look he sent her way.

"No, sorry," Sorano Tsukiko, captain of the girls' tennis team, shook her head. "I'm in B, but Shishido-kun forgot his lunch this morning and his mom asked me to give it to him."

Shishido, who had just appeared next to Tsukiko, nodded to her with his usual serious, if not rather cross, expression. "Thanks, Sorano," he said in a slightly less gruff than usual tone. "I'm guessing my mom roped you into joining us for dinner again, huh?"

"Can't tonight," Tsukiko smiled regretfully. "Voice lessons. But I told her next time, so we'll see. And now," she checked her watch with a frown. "I'd better get going. Okazaki-sensei is probably in homeroom by now. I'll see you later, Shishido-kun. You too, Oshitari-kun and Anna—oh, and don't forget that signups are today!" Tsukiko called over her shoulder, waving as she darted gracefully out of the room.

Anna repressed the urge to snicker as she watched Shishido return to his seat.

As the teacher finished up seating arrangements, Oshitari suddenly turned to Anna with a hesitant expression on his face. "Did I actually get you concussed last year, Hayashi-chan?" He questioned, carefully selecting his words without his usual suaveness.

 _Again, there it is with the –_ chan _._ "Yeah, you did," Anna confirmed, tossing him a sarcastic smile. "What, were you so busy making out with your girlfriend that you didn't notice someone tripping over you and cracking her head against the floor? Because that's a memory that I don't think I'll ever forget."

Stunned, Oshitari could only dip his head and say, "Well, this is long overdue, but I'm sorry about that."

Anna blinked. Was it just she, or did he actually sound genuinely sincere? It was just a concussion, and it had happened a year ago. Maybe it had been a little too much to hold that grudge against him, and for a moment she wished she'd been nicer to him. After all, they were seat partners for the rest of the year now, were they not?

Still, Anna didn't like to admit defeat. "Hey, Oshitari?" She whispered softly, wondering what was the best way to word what she wanted to say next.

"Yes?" Damn it, his eyes were really blue. Anna wanted to see them up close again, but that didn't seem very smart at the moment

Instead, she said, "Is it too late to send you the medical bill?"

 **~xXx~**

Second year Kataoka Chizuru was thoroughly exhausted. The effects of her morning coffee were already wearing off, of course she hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, and it was only lunchtime. And naturally, she'd forgotten to pack her lunch.

Just as she was considering going to the nurse and sleeping through lunch, Chizuru's friend, Etsu, slid into the seat next to her and offered Chizuru half her sandwich. "Here, you'd better eat this, Chizuru-san. You need to keep your strength up for the rest of the day," Etsu reminded, her clipped, matter-of-fact voice calm and relaxed.

Chizuru gratefully accepted the sandwich and took a bite out of it. "Thanks, Etsu-san. You can have my dessert tomorrow, when I actually remember to pack my lunch," she laughed shakily, wondering if the room looked so shaky because of her fatigue or if it really was shaking.

"Of course," Etsu nodded in satisfaction, like she'd just struck a lifelong contract with Chizuru. "And don't forget that you owe me a soda, too, since I bought one for you last week."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure, I've got it," Chizuru nodded, secretly wishing that she had other friends. She liked Etsu enough, but sometimes, Chizuru got the impression that Etsu treated everything like a business deal, like it was all a give-and-take situation of who-owes-who. Even their friendship was like that, with Etsu always reminding her of how much money Chizuru owed, or by how many points Etsu scored higher on a test. But almost all of the time, Chizuru would be the one to score higher, and Etsu would ignore her for a solid day. She'd go off with her other friends, as if Chizuru deserved some kind of punishment for performing better.

But sometimes, Chizuru just wanted a friend by her side. And Etsu just happened to be good enough.

"So," Etsu commented, sipping at her tea with her pinky up. "Are you going to try out for the track team this year? Because we still haven't been able to find any good sprinters after losing Shishido-senpai and Himura-senpai, so we may as well have a strong enough distance crew to make up for it."

"Actually…" Chizuru trailed off, feeling immensely guilty when Etsu's brown eyes coldly turned to her. "I've decided to not double up on sports this year, and I think I'll just play tennis. I've got a real shot at making the team this year, and—"

"I see. You're choosing Ootori over your friend," Etsu interrupted, her gaze turning even colder. "When are you going to realize that he's never going to like you back? You've already gotten rejected once, and do you really want to go through that again?"

Chizuru jerked back, but it wasn't just because of the harshness of Etsu's words. The cafeteria was really starting to spin now, and she could feel the back of her neck starting to itch. "Etsu," she gripped her friend's arm desperately. "Why didn't you tell me you had tomatoes in your sandwich?"

The other girl merely shrugged as she took another slow sip of her tea. "Oh, I must have forgotten. You'd better rush off to the nurse then, if you don't want your allergies to react too strongly," she responded, sounding way too calm for the situation at hand.

Tearfully, Chizuru bolted out of her chair and ran out of the cafeteria. She knew that by now, her neck and face must have broken out in hives, and of course Etsu had remembered that she was allergic to tomatoes, but had chosen not to tell her on purpose. It was so typical Etsu, but the action still made Chizuru want to cry at the same time.

She was running so fast that she didn't happen to notice the petite frame right in front of her. "Whoa!" a girl's voice called out in surprise as thin arms reaching out to steady Chizuru. Through her tears, Chizuru could make out a pair of eyes so dark they were black. "Are you okay? Wait, that's a dumb question, since you're covered in hives. Come on, I'll get you to the nurse," the girl said, words coming out of her a mile a minute. "What's your name? Why are you crying? Oh God, please tell me this is just an allergic reaction, right? Because I really don't know what to do in a life or death situation, and I'm new here, so—"

"Airi," another, much deeper voice cut in. Chizuru recognized this voice to be Kabaji, her fellow classmate and sort-of friend from the tennis team. "Nurse first, then questions later."

"Ah, right. Sorry then. Come on, let's go," the girl apologized, leading Chizuru by the hand. Her voice sounded kind of strange, like although she was still speaking Japanese, the cadence and inflections were different than what Chizuru was used to. "Do you have your EpiPen with you?"

Chizuru could only jerk her head from side to side, meaning no, of course she'd forgotten her EpiPen back in her classroom all the way on the other side of the school. More tears sprang out of her eyes, and Chizuru just about wanted to die out of embarrassment. As if this day couldn't physically drain her any more.

"Oh, don't cry! You're going to be fine. See, we're already at the nurse's office!" the girl hastily consoled, directing Chizuru through the door. "Sensei? She's had an allergic reaction and needs an EpiPen."

Chizuru was about to thank Airi for her kindness, when suddenly another voice said, "Kataoka-san? Are you okay?"

 _Oh God, so_ this _is how my day could have gotten so much worse_. Furiously, she wiped away her tears and plastered what was supposed to be a smile on her face. "I'm fine, Ootori-kun, just an allergy," Chizuru laughed perhaps a bit too unconvincingly.

Ootori, all tall build and silvery hair and amber eyes, peered down at her with concern. "Are you sure?" He checked warily, appearing to be slightly taken aback and a whole lot confused.

Chizuru, meanwhile, wondered if it were more embarrassing that she was covered in hives in front of him, or that it was so obvious she'd just been crying. _Where is sensei with that EpiPen already?_ Before she could reply, however, her new companion chimed in.

"Ootori-san, right? She just had an allergic reaction, she'll be fine," the girl explained. Now that Chizuru's vision was clearing up, she saw that the girl's hair was light brown and haphazardly braided with uneven loops and lopsided twists, something that Etsu would look down at with a curled lip.

At that moment, the nurse reappeared with the EpiPen and gestured for the girl, Ootori, and Kabaji to leave. Ootori glanced back at her once before leaving, but the girl remained for a few moments longer, lifting her chin in a non-contemptuous way and smiling. "Hey, cheer up. The day will get better," she said, her dark eyes crinkling with kindness.

Before Chizuru could reply, the girl was already gone, and the EpiPen was stabbing through her thigh.

 **~xXx~**

"Well this is quite the turnout," Tsukiko remarked, grinning at the long line of girls waiting to sign up for the tennis club. "It looks like there's even more than when we were freshmen, right, Shun-san?"

"Yeah," Shun agreed absentmindedly, busy concentrating on the stacks of paper in front of her. "At this rate, we may need to hold two days of tryouts instead of just one."

Shun didn't mind Tsukiko that much—she actually quite liked her, and that was a rare statement for Shun. People in general really weren't her forte. Shun got along well with Tsukiko, but that was just because Tsukiko was Tsukiko and likable as hell. She also liked Erena, but she wasn't sure what Erena thought about her in return. And, well, those two were pretty much it. Shun didn't know many others on a personal level, and she also didn't care enough to want to know them that well.

Tsukiko tucked a strand of blood red hair behind her ear and smiled up at the next girl in line—a rather bedraggled looking second year with loosely curly auburn hair and dark shadows under her eyes. "Hi, Chizuru-chan. I heard from Ootori-kun and Shishido-kun about your visit to the nurse today, but I'm glad you're feeling better now," the captain greeted, reassuringly patting Chizuru on the hand. "You know the drill, of course. Just tell us your class number and we've got you."

"Class 2-A," Chizuru responded, her voice slightly more hoarse than usual. "Thanks, Sorano-buchou."

Shun peered at the second year over her reading glasses. The reddened eyes, slightly ruined eyeliner, and quiet hiccupping were direct pointers that let Shun know Chizuru had been crying earlier, but she chose not to comment. She hardly knew Chizuru, but she had heard plenty about her. The top scorer in academics, the best long-distance sprinter on the track team, and the Girl Who Never Slept were just a few titles that belonged to Kataoka Chizuru.

Sometimes, Shun looked at people like Chizuru and felt sorry for them. They worked their life away to the point where they became fatigued, pale ghosts of their true selves, when at some point their actions were no longer for them but for someone or something else.

Then again, Shun thought with a sigh as she scribbled down Chizuru's name. Wasn't she also inflicting that upon herself?

"Well, well, well," a drawling, cat-like voice purred. "Look who actually showed up like the good little vice captain she is. It appears I've severely underestimated you, Himura."

The back of Shun's neck went cold when she felt a slender arm being wrapped around her shoulders in a gesture that was much too close for comfort. She already knew who it was without having to look, but that didn't mean Shun particularly liked who was speaking to her.

"Hey, Yuuka," Tsukiko greeted with a smile that made Shun never want to look away. "Quite a big crowd this year, huh?"

 _How the hell does Tsukiko of all people deal with that devil?_ "Akechi," Shun said coldly, turning to face the pair of eden green eyes that could, quite possibly, turn someone to stone. "It's funny, you know, that you're not in my class anymore. I wonder why you would ever switch out," Shun remarked, vicious satisfaction coursing through her veins at the narrowing of those eden eyes.

If asked who was the most rebellious Hyotei student, most would automatically say Akechi Yuuka. With her purple-pink ombre hair, glinting eyes, and ever-present smirk, Yuuka looked like the poster child for every parent's deepest fear. But—fortunately or unfortunately—Shun knew Yuuka well enough to know that she wasn't so much rebellious as she was enigmatic. Everything she did was for a reason, but for what reason, Shun had no idea. Nor did she care enough to find out.

"What does any of that have to do with you?" Yuuka bared her teeth in an aggressive snarl. It took a lot to piss her off, but when someone—especially Shun—hit the sore spot, they may as well kiss life goodbye.

"Alright, that's enough," Tsukiko cut in, gazing sternly at the two. "Yuuka, why don't you and Erena organize the club house, and Shun and I will finish here. We'll work on blocks for the tryouts after the crowd has cleared up," she instructed in a _you listen to me or else_ voice, which sounded strange on the normally quiet and kind third year.

Yuuka stared Shun down for a moment longer, before eventually flicking her purple and pink ponytail over her shoulder and sauntering away. "Whatever," she called over her shoulder. "At least I don't have a stick shoved up my ass like Himura here."

It took every ounce of self-control Shun didn't even know she possessed to prevent herself from running after Yuuka and backhanding her across the face. Hyotei's mastermind wasn't just intimidating; she could be downright fucking terrifying without even trying. And out of everyone, Yuuka had chosen Shun to be her rival, her enemy, her whatever the hell she was supposed to be.

To be selected by Akechi Yuuka generally wasn't a good thing, and Shun had been tossed a death sentence when most were only given a glare. And the most terrifying part was, she knew exactly why Yuuka targeted her so much.

 **~xXx~**

Yachi's eyes brightened immediately upon seeing Chizuru. "Ah, Kataoka-san! You finally showed up," he chided lightly, slapping her maybe a little too hard on the back. "Hamaguchi-san mentioned that you wouldn't be signing up this year, but don't you worry, I never doubted you for a minute! We can't just lose our number one long distance runner, after all."

Weakly, Chizuru attempted to muster a smile back at her upperclassmen. Yachi, the track captain, was as talkative as he was excitable, and his energy was often too much for Chizuru to deal with. "I'm not too late, am I?" She mumbled, praying on the inside that he would make an exception for her.

"We'll always wait for you, Kataoka," Yachi grinned, thumping her on the back again. This time, a few of her books fell out of her arms, which he didn't even notice. "In fact, Hamaguchi-san will be happy to hear that, since we'll have enough distance runners for a relay team. I'm so happy you chose your track family over tennis!"

"Oh, um, uh, yeah. Yeah, so am I," Chizuru hastily agreed, not having the energy or willpower to tell her happy captain the truth. _Well, it's nothing a little caffeine can't fix._

Yachi's gaze shifted over to something behind Chizuru's head. His face broke out into an even bigger smile, if that were even possible, and he called out, "Oi, Shishido! Thinking about rejoining your old family again?"

 _Shishido-senpai?_

All of a sudden, Chizuru felt a large hand clap down on her shoulder, making her jump again and drop even more of her books. One of them even landed on her foot, but she was so shocked that she didn't even feel the pain.

"Sorry, Yachi, but that's not gonna happen," Shishido responded flatly, his brown eyes devoid of any sort of friendly emotion. "Come on, Kataoka. Let's go."

And with that, Chizuru found herself scrambling to pick up her books and running after the tall third year, making sure to call a quick apology out to Yachi over her shoulder. "What's going on, senpai?" She shouted, struggling to catch up with Shishido's brisk pace. Weren't Shishido and Yachi friends? They used to always be together on the track team back in middle school, and if she remembered correctly, there had been lots of talk about the two being co-captains together.

Shishido paused only long enough for her to catch up, and then continued walking at the same quick speed. "Are you actually stupid, Kataoka? How the hell do you think you're going to manage tennis _and_ track _and_ piano _and_ all your academics?" He demanded, glaring at her from the corner of his eye.

Chizuru bit her lip to keep from crying out. Of course she knew that she was being stupid, because hadn't she already learned the hard way to not overdo it, to let herself breathe every once in a while? But Etsu wanted her to keep on doing track, and then Ootori was on the tennis team, and everything was just too much but at the same time it wasn't nearly enough. Chizuru didn't mind the all-nighters, the endless cups of coffee as long as they came out to mean something, and they did.

Did they?

"Shit," Shishido muttered, focusing his glare on his watch. "Shit, I'm already late. Sorry about that all that, Kataoka, but all I'm saying is that you need to do what you actually want to and not what you think you can. Got it?"

Before she could give him an answer, he was already gone, sprinting off like the wind.

 **~xXx~**

By the time Shishido reached his neighborhood, the sky was already starting to darken as the sun sank down. It would probably be dark within another hour, which meant that yes, he was definitely way too late, but none of that mattered anymore once he reached his house.

Sorano Tsukiko stood waiting for him on their joint tennis court, right between the Shishido and Sorano houses.

Technically, the court belonged to the Soranos, but when he was younger, Shishido used to sneak out onto it when they were out so he could practice. It was right there, after all, so what point was there in going all the way to the street courts? Then, one day, a girl his age with hair the color of blood was already there with an expectant look on her face. Waiting. Waiting for him.

And ever since then, the court didn't belong to the Soranos. Maybe it still legally did, but as far as Shishido was concerned, it was his and Tsukiko's and no one else's. It was their own little place in the world, and he liked it just that way.

"About time," Tsukiko teased, grinning lightly when he jogged up to her. She held out a stack of papers to him, said, "I got tired of waiting, so I decided to fill out the tournament blocks myself. No thanks to you, of course."

"Mmhmm," Shishido nodded, skimming through the papers with a critical eye. Her handwriting was neat and precise, and each of the blocks was filled in with carefulness and strategy. "Looks pretty good," he said at last, handing the stack back to her. "Remind me to stop by and watch Himura and Katsura's match. That sounds like it's going to be interesting," he remarked.

Tsukiko nodded, carefully setting the papers back into her messenger bag. "Ikue-san wasn't in school today, but she texted me to say that she was still signing up, so I wrote her name down. But yes, I'm looking forward to that match, too," she agreed. Then, she picked up her blue racquet and glanced back up at him with her blue-black eyes, said, "Well then, aren't you going to compensate for lost time?"

 _You_ , Shishido wanted to say, but cut off the thought before it got too far. The way she stood before him now—her dark red hair shining in the fading light, her eyes and mouth smiling up at him with an expression that he wanted to keep all to himself, that he didn't want anyone else to ever see—made him want to speak the words he'd skirted around for so many years, but he didn't. Couldn't. Shouldn't. Wouldn't. Just one of those reasons why.

"Yeah," he said instead, digging through his bag for his own racquet. "I've just got to win faster than usual, right?"

She laughed as she scooped back all her long wavy hair into a silver hairclip. "If that's what you think."

As Shishido stood preparing to serve, he briefly locked eyes with her across the net, causing her to flash him a small smile. Didn't, couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't. Did, could, should, would. He didn't know if that kind of change would ever happen, but for now, he could only continue thinking the words he wanted to say.

 _You are entirely too good to be true_.

He looked away and served.

* * *

 **~xXx~**

* * *

 **A/N** : As you can tell, there are several changes. Everyone's a little different this time around, but I'd like to think that they're more realistic characters as a whole now.

Where's Ikue though? Where's Miura? Why don't Atobe and Airi ever interact? Why's Chizuru so downtrodden? What's up with Shishido and Tsukiko? And what secret does Yuuka know about Shun?

All those questions will be answered in due time. In fact, I'm still figuring out some of them myself.

I think one of my biggest problems with _From Sky High_ was that all my main OCs were beginning to blend into the same character. I'd dissolved the hostility between Shun and Yuuka without any actual development, neither Erena nor Chizuru ever received enough of a unique personality, and Tsukiko was a bit inconsistent. And of course, there were too many romances being randomly thrown in at the weirdest times.

So again, I hope that you all will continue to enjoy and read this revamped version, and if you have any questions, just send them to my tumblr **cara-s-kingdom**.

Leave a comment with your feedback, too! I really enjoy reading what you think, be it positive or negative.

Love, Cara


	2. Can't Help But Want Oceans to Part

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi.

* * *

 **~xXx~**

" _Stay with me a little longer_

 _I will wait for you_

 _Shadows creep_

 _And want grows stronger_

 _Deeper than the truth."_

—Ruelle, _War of Hearts_

 **~xXx~**

* * *

"Morning!" Airi called, yawning as she haphazardly braided her light brown hair. She stopped when she reached the kitchen, said, "Oh, you're here, Mune? I didn't know you'd be stopping by. Is Keigo-senpai here, too?"

Kabaji, who sat poised with a cup of tea at the table, shook his head. "At school early. Some business to take care of," he answered, sliding a plate of toast over to her.

Airi smiled back at him fondly. Though Kabaji's replies were short and succinct, he was unswervingly honest and kind. In a world full of people that used and were used, it was nice to have someone pure.

"Classic Keigo-senpai. He probably had an early morning hair appointment or something," Airi joked. She winked at Kabaji over her cup, added, "Of course, hopefully this time he won't accidentally get a perm."

The quiet boy briefly grinned back, before his expression returned to its usual seriousness. Leaning forward, Kabaji said, "Are you ready?"

Airi didn't need to ask to know what he was referring to. With a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes, she replied, "What do you think, Mune?"

And with that, she promptly announced that it was time to go and skipped off.

 **~xXx~**

"Onee-chan! The less attractive brother is here!" Sorano Nishiko called loudly enough for the heavens to hear.

Tsukiko privately rolled her eyes to herself. "Thank god for you, Nishiko," she muttered under her breath. With a resigned sigh, Tsukiko grabbed her tennis bag and headed for the front.

Sure enough, Shishido—ahem, the _less attractive brother_ Shishido Ryou—stood waiting for her in the mudroom, appearing to be relatively unfazed by Nishiko's rather bluntly put statement.

Secretly though, Tsukiko thought Nishiko was wrong. Maybe the older Shishido brother was the textbook example of the tall, dark, and handsome stereotype, but the younger one wasn't too bad either. Plus, at least the younger brother wasn't a womanizer.

"Good morning, Shishido-kun," Tsukiko spoke around the hair tie in her mouth. "Would you like something to drink?"

Shishido nodded back in greeting, and then shook his head. "We'd better get going soon, or else that sister of yours won't stop insulting me," he responded dryly, eyeing Nishiko in annoyance.

"The pleasure's all mine, lesser brother," Nishiko proudly informed. At sixteen, she was only a year and a half younger than Shishido and her older sister, yet her mouth still worked like a middle schooler's.

Tsukiko rolled her eyes again, clasping Shishido on the wrist and dragging him out the door. "Bye, Nishiko!" She laughed, ignoring the sudden urge to slip her hand lower so it fit into Shishido's.

When they first became friends, they had already been too old for it to be acceptable for boys and girls to hold hands without it meaning something else. And sometimes, Tsukiko wondered what it would be like to hold his hand. But purely out of curiosity, of course. Because after all, Shishido had yet to get a girlfriend, though he could definitely get one, what with all the confessions he received on Valentine's Day. Tsukiko had never asked why he rejected all the girls, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder.

She regretfully removed her fingers from his wrist once they started walking on the sidewalk. Either he didn't care, or he didn't notice, because he didn't say anything about it.

Instead, Shishido said, "Mom wants to know if you're free for dinner today, since you couldn't come yesterday. She still feels bad about making you deliver my lunch."

"Oh yeah, sure," Tsukiko nodded as she mentally went through her schedule. "Of course, the tryouts should only last for a few hours, and then I've got to buy some more grip tape, but then…oh…" She trailed off at a sudden realization.

Shishido cast a quizzical look. Apologetically, Tsukiko bowed her head and explained, "I actually have a date tonight. With Naito, you know, our class rep from last year."

For some reason, it felt awkward to talk about other boys with Shishido. Tsukiko had had a few boyfriends here and there, but she'd never really discussed them with him before. It was kind of like some unwritten rule between the two of them, and she wasn't sure if it was the best rule or not. "So I'm sorry about this. Tell your mother that tomorrow night would work well, though," she apologized.

"It's not a big deal," Shishido carelessly lifted and raised a shoulder. "It's just a dinner. Mom gets it."

Tsukiko, however, was not fooled. She caught the way his jaw tightened just a little bit, and that was enough for her to wish that she were available tonight.

Before she could offer some other solution, Shishido cleared his throat and offered her a small smile. "Really, Sorano, it's fine. Besides, I could always tempt Nishiko over by telling her that Aniki's home," he joked.

Tsukiko shook her head and smiled back. "Good luck with that, oh lesser brother," she laughed.

Maybe there were some taboo topics of discussion, but Tsukiko wouldn't trade her friendship with Shishido for anything in the world.

 **~xXx~**

"Crap," Chizuru muttered under her breath. She was simultaneously trying to juggle her ever present stack of books while jiggling open her locker, but as luck would have it, the door just had to be stuck today.

She really did have the worst luck, didn't she? First the whole allergic reaction yesterday, then Etsu's blatant shunning of her, and Chizuru didn't even know if she was actually on the track team or not. And now this unfortunate situation happened.

A hand tapped her on the shoulder, followed by a gentle voice. "Here, let me help, Kataoka-san," Ootori Choutarou kindly eased her aside. With a forceful tug, he managed to yank open the jammed locker door. "And there we go."

Chizuru, meanwhile, didn't know what to say. _Isn't this awkward for you, Ootori-kun?_ "Oh, thanks," she nodded, avoiding all eye contact with the tall boy.

She began to place her books inside the locker, but to her surprise, Ootori didn't move. _Why are you still here?_ Chizuru turned, said, "Is there something you need, Ootori-kun?"

Ootori suddenly looked very, very, shy. He stood a solid eight or so inches taller than her, but the way his shoulders leaned forward made him look shrunken. "Well, I just thought it would be the right thing to help you out," Ootori began. Chizuru could tell that he was choosing his words carefully, like he was afraid of saying something wrong. "And if you ever want to talk, well, I'll always be open for that," he added, his amber eyes apologetically meeting hers.

Chizuru didn't have to see it to know that her face was as red as the tomatoes she was so allergic to. She stared down at her feet awkwardly, wondering what would be the best way to approach the situation. Finally, she mumbled, "No, it's okay, Ootori-kun. You don't need to explain yourself, really."

"But," Ootori frowned, "I feel bad just breaking up with you like that. We can still be friends, Kataoka-san, and I don't want you to think that you weren't good enough for anything, because it wasn't that."

At the words _breaking up_ , Chizuru could feel her face burn even more. Even though it had already been two months, and even though she knew that high school boyfriends and relationships really wouldn't matter in the long run, it didn't change the fact that it hurt to get dumped. Especially when someone as sweet as Ootori dumped you and they didn't even tell you why.

Clearing her throat, Chizuru shook her head. But before she could say anything, they were interrupted by the arrival of two more people.

"Morning, Choutarou," Shishido greeted, slapping a hand down on the taller boy's shoulder. His brown eyes slid over to Chizuru, narrowing slightly when they landed on her. "Kataoka," Shishido nodded curtly.

"Good morning, Shishido-senpai," Chizuru hastily bowed her head. She thought of the way he had pulled her out of the situation with Yachi the day before, and she hoped to god that he wouldn't bring it up now, especially not in front of her ex.

Unsurprisingly, Sorano Tsukiko, the captain of the girls' tennis team, was with Shishido. Tsukiko greeted Chizuru warmly, and then quickly excused herself to go to her locker. Chizuru couldn't help but notice the way Shishido glanced back at the older girl, and for some reason, Chizuru felt a pang in her stomach.

 _Get a grip on yourself, idiot_ , she scolded herself. Chizuru turned back to Ootori, mumbled, "Thanks again for the help, Ootori-kun. I'll see you later, I guess," and dashed out of the scene as quickly as she could.

 **~xXx~**

There were, Atobe knew, long days ahead. Days of anxiety over future plans, stupid little spats over love, and god knew what else there would be. All that mattered was that he both did and did not want it all to be over already.

But the year had only just begun. Those days would have to last for quite some while.

There was a knock on the door of his personal study, and for a moment he thought it was _she_. But then the knob twisted before he could reply, and the face that peered in wasn't nearly calculating enough.

"Hey, Keigo-senpai," Airi called in English rather than Japanese. "I just though I'd drop in to say hi before class started."

She plopped herself down in the chair opposite Atobe's desk so naturally that he would have thought it were her office rather than his. That was just the thing about Airi; no matter where she went, you always had the feeling that she belonged. Maybe it was something in the way she always smiled, or perhaps it was because of her warmth. Either way, Atobe was rather fond of his childhood friend.

"Where's Kabaji?" Atobe inquired, though he guessed that Kabaji was probably already seated at his desk in 2-A and carefully jotting down notes.

Airi shrugged. "Already in class like the model student he is. Don't get your hopes up that I'll be like him, though."

Atobe rolled his eyes. "There never existed any hope," he commented dryly, reaching over his desk to ruffle her light brown hair. "And your braid is as messy as always, I can see."

"Only you care about that, Keigo-senpai," Airi laughed, but she took out the hair tie anyway and unraveled the sloppy plait. "So anyway, you got any advice for me before tryouts today?"

"Don't lose," Atobe replied vaguely, smirking at Airi's exasperated expression. "You shouldn't have any problem making the team though, really. Some of the third years are very good, but there are very few talented underclassmen. Just keep your cool and try not to break any more racquets."

"That was _one time_ —oh, whatever," Airi shook her head, clearly not willing to get into a quarrel over something as trivial as that. "But the real important question is," she leaned forward with a smirk. "When am I going to meet that girlfriend of yours, Keigo-senpai?"

Atobe's blood froze to ice. "We broke up," he snapped flatly. He hated to raise his voice at Airi of all people, but when it came to his recently ended relationship, Atobe no longer cared. "You'll meet her anyway, but we're not together anymore. Haven't been for a few weeks, actually. So just don't mention me, if you don't mind."

Airi rather coolly raised a brow. She finished her braid—only marginally better than the first—and said, "Alright then. Thanks for sharing."

Then she got up and left, leaving Atobe flooded with guilt.

 **~xXx~**

As far as Shun was concerned, vice-captains shouldn't have to participate in tryouts. Hell, returning members shouldn't even had to try out, but of course on the off chance that there did happen to be fresh new talent, they had to play to reclaim their spots.

But on the other hand, fresh new talent was as rare as finding Akutagawa Jirou awake. Winning 6-0 may have been fun the first match, but now Shun was just finding it all rather tedious.

"I'm the vice-captain! Why do I need to do this?" she'd complained to Tsukiko earlier in the locker room.

"Well I'm the captain and _I_ still have to," Tsukiko had pointed out. "Come on Shun-san, I bet it won't take you more than forty minutes to finish everything."

And then Tsukiko had sent her a smile as bright as the sun, and _damn_ , if that wasn't quite a sight.

So here Shun was, with four out of five matches done and awaiting her last. She didn't know who she was playing but it wasn't like it mattered, anyway. Her position was already secure—as if anyone had doubted that before.

Unable to help it, Shun glanced over to Court 2, where a certain red-haired captain was in the midst of a match against the tall and elegant Fukumitsu Erena. Tsukiko appeared to be losing, but she didn't seem to mind. Not many could overthrow Erena, after all.

"Hey, Himura," a voice startled Shun out of her thoughts. The vice-captain glanced up to see a girl with copper brown hair and startlingly violet eyes. "You ready to start?" The girl asked, gesturing over to a vacant court.

Shun's only thought was, _Oh shit_.

 **~xXx~**

The ball came back faster than it had before, but to Airi, it was still relatively slow. After growing up with Atobe and Kabaji, shots like this weren't too much of a problem. She took a single step forward and neatly caught the ball in the air, volleying it straight at the opposite corner.

"Game and match, Yoshida! 6-1!"

Airi grinned. With that victory, she knew that she'd just made the team. And by the looks of it, so did Kataoka Chizuru.

"Nice job," Airi said, extending out her hand for Chizuru to shake. "Are you feeling better from yesterday?"

Chizuru looked confused as she grasped Airi's outstretched hand. "Sorry, but what do you mean? Have we met before?" The auburn hair girl asked in bemusement.

Airi stifled a chuckle. She hadn't recognized Chizuru at first either, considering the fact that the other girl was no longer covered in hives. But Airi knew that it was definitely the same girl she'd helped get to the nurse, because Airi had never met anyone else with eyes as weary as Kataoka Chizuru.

With a cheeky salute, Airi explained. "You had that allergic reaction yesterday and ran into me, so I brought you over to the nurse's office. Does that strike a bell?"

Chizuru's reaction would have been kind of funny, had Airi not immediately realized that this was a girl who got embarrassed too easily. The auburn haired girl's eyes shot down to the ground, her cheeks flushed with something like shame. "Oh, yeah…thank you for helping me, Yoshida-san, but I couldn't exactly recognize you because, well, I was kind of…"

 _Crying your heart out over something cruel,_ Airi guessed. The thought of someone being purposefully derogatory to Chizuru—who seemed so sweet and harmless, if not totally insecure—made Airi's blood boil, and she was overcome with the feeling that she needed to protect Chizuru. Not to baby her, per say, but to let her know that she was worth so much more than she thought, that she was an amazing person.

Then again, Airi barely knew Chizuru. She didn't know if she could be that person, at least not yet.

Instead, Airi settled for clapping the other girl on the shoulder and saying, "I'm glad you're okay now."

Chizuru's mouth parted slightly in surprise, but then she smiled back—shyly though, like she didn't know if it were acceptable for her to do so.

Airi supposed that she'd like to be that person for Chizuru. Because didn't everyone deserve to be happy?

 **~xXx~**

"Game and match, Akechi! 6-3!"

Anna narrowed her eyes as she shook her opponent's hand. "Good job, Akechi. That was pretty fucking terrifying," Anna remarked with only a bit of reluctance.

Yuuka tilted her head to the side. "Your forehand's only gotten stronger, but I'd recommend touching up on those volleys of yours," was Yuuka's only comment before she strode away.

Anna sighed. Akechi Yuuka was the smartest, most terrifyingly calculating player Anna had ever met, and she absolutely hated it. Every time she'd tried to smash the ball to the opposite corner, Yuuka had already been waiting to receive it. It didn't matter what Anna had tried, but nothing worked. She supposed that that was just how it worked when you played Yuuka—no, when Yuuka played you—but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

It was strange, but Anna couldn't actually bring herself to hate the other girl. Anna disliked most people, and most people disliked Yuuka, but somehow they had a sort of grudging respect for each other. Maybe even a friendship, if one would call it such. Anna didn't know exactly how to define their relationship, but she supposed she wouldn't mind being considered Yuuka's friend. Because god knew that that girl needed as many friends to support her as she could get.

Anna went over to report her score, but it turned out that Yuuka had already done so. She scanned over the rest of the block, satisfied to see that everyone had finished the matches, and with only one loss, Anna had made the cut. Yuuka had dominated the whole block with five wins and zero losses, but no one else had even come close to beating Anna.

"Congratulations," Tsukiko gave Anna a thumb up. "I'm looking forward to being on the same team as you, Anna-san."

"Thanks," Anna grinned in return, willingly breaking her hardened exterior on one of the few rare occasions. "Are the others done yet?"

Erena, who sat next to Tsukiko at the table, was busy examining the blocks. "We just finished up as the Block C victors, and then you and Yuuka won A. I think B is just about done, and then there's only a few left in D. Looks like the results are fairly predictable, though."

"May I?" Anna asked, to which Erena responded by handing her the papers. Anna scanned over the remaining two blocks, recognizing a few names here and there. "So Kataoka won D, as well as—oh, who's this who beat her? Yoshida Airi? I haven't heard of her before," she remarked, glancing up in curiosity at Tsukiko and Erena.

Tsukiko shrugged. "I think she's a transfer student. The short one, I believe, with the messy braid. She's got quite the volleys though."

"She gave Kataoka a hell of a lot of trouble," Erena remarked grimly. "Kataoka plays well when she's in control of the point, but that Yoshida…it's like she's made of fire. It's really quite something to watch."

Anna raised a brow in surprise. If Erena was saying that someone was impressive, then that had to mean something. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for Yoshida Airi, whoever this transfer student happened to be.

"And it looks like…oh wow. Himura and Katsura in Block B? That's a match I'd like to watch," Anna whistled lowly. She knew that Shun was vice-captain for a reason, but Katsura was just…well, even Yuuka made more sense than Katsura Ikue.

"You still can. They've been battling it out for the past thirty minutes, actually, and don't seem close to done yet," Tsukiko checked her watch. "Make that thirty-five minutes, actually. Want to go watch?"

"Definitely," Anna agreed, her curiosity getting the better of her. "You coming too, Erena-san?"

Erena shook her head, waving the two of them off. "Someone needs to record scores. Besides, I don't need to watch to know that it's an excellent match."

"If you say so," Tsukiko shrugged, already heading off for Court 2. "Come on then, Anna-san. Let's go see what's happening."

 **~xXx~**

"Game, Himura! 5 all!"

Shun gritted her teeth in frustration. _What the hell was that?_ She thought, staring at ball that Ikue had just hit. It hadn't moved an inch from the spot it had landed—hadn't even stopped spinning, either. As if some kind of magnet was on the one spot, completely preventing the ball from moving.

But the ball was out. There was only a thin sliver of purple between the ball and the line, but it was definitely there. The ball was definitely out, but if it had bounced away, the umpire would have called it in. Had Ikue meant to spin it in, only for it to miss by the smallest bit?

No, Shun realized as she looked up to meet Katsura Ikue's violet gaze. No, that was not it. The corner of Ikue's mouth lifted up ever so slightly, then dropped down to its usual neutral position. But Shun had seen it, and that was enough to prove her suspicions.

Ikue had hit the ball out on purpose. There simply was no other explanation.

Dimly, Shun was aware that everyone had gathered around the court to watch. She and Ikue was the last match of tryouts, and the boys had finished quite some time ago so they were all here too.

She glanced around the crowd quickly, only really picking up on a few people. There was Atobe, his eyes narrowed as he studied Katsura Ikue. Over by the right were Kabaji, Chizuru, and a girl that Shun vaguely recognized to be a new transfer student. She saw a flash of blood red hair next to a blue cap, then a head of golden hair by a pair of eden eyes. Eyes that Shun feared and hated at the same time. Eyes that said, _I know your secret, and it is not safe with me._

Exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding for so long, Shun leveled her gaze with Ikue's. She'd only played the other girl twice before, and with completely varied results. Once Shun had lost dismally, then the next time she won spectacularly. But she knew that neither result actually meant anything, at least not to Ikue.

Of all players, Ikue terrified her the most. Not even the completely dominant Erena, not even the fiercely aggressive Yuuka could scare Shun as much as Ikue.

Shun took a deep breath, and then prepared to serve. She had no idea what the result would be, but all she knew was that she still had a long battle ahead. Or maybe she didn't. You never knew with Ikue.

 **~xXx~**

"How interesting," Atobe murmured under his breath. "This match is certainly not going as expected."

When Tsukiko had mentioned earlier during their captains' conference that these two would be playing a match, Atobe hadn't thought much of it at first. He found Himura Shun to be an excellent player, no doubt about that, but her reserved and solitary personality rather irritated him. As for Katsura Ikue, well, he'd heard of the name and knew her face, but had never given her a second thought in all the years they'd gone to school together.

Now, however, he wished he hadn't been so flippant towards her. For Katsura Ikue was certainly something, indeed.

He studied her appearance as she took a break to get a drink. She was fairly tall, with a rich olive complexion and eyes an unusual shade of purple like the viola mandshurica he'd seen his mother attempt to grow. When she turned back to the court, he noticed with surprise that the underside of her copper brown hair, exposed by her ponytail, was dyed with stripes of deep blue and emerald green. He found it to be rather tastefully done, but the memory of someone else with dyed hair left a bitter taste on his tongue.

 _Stop,_ he scolded himself. _You're being a melodramatic idiot_.

On the opposite side of the court, Shun served. She wasn't that powerful on her groundstrokes, but Shun certainly had quite a serve to her. It zipped low and quick, barely clearing the net without touching it. Ikue bent down to receive it, sending the ball back over the net with so much backspin Atobe was surprised it didn't just go backwards on impact with the racquet. Not even Himura Shun, the former track star sprinter, could get to the ball on time as it skidded right back into the net.

"Love-fifteen!"

The next point wasn't nearly as breathtaking. Shun's serve was nearly identical, but this time Ikue mishit it so badly that the ball flew over the fence. Some of the first years laughed, but Atobe was not fooled. And by the tight-lipped expression on Shun's face, neither was she.

As if sensing his stare, Ikue turned her head to meet Atobe's eyes. He was yet again struck by how shocking of a color her eyes were, how singularly unique. Atobe didn't know if he could call her beautiful—attractive, definitely, and perhaps pretty—but those eyes were definitely something.

Ikue coolly stared up at him. _Anything you'd like to say?_

Yes, in fact, he had quite a lot he'd like to say. For example, _what in your gene pool gave you those eyes?_ Or, _why dye only the underside of your hair?_

Most importantly, _why do you continue to throw points when you so clearly have all the control?_

But before he could, she had already turned her back to him.

"Interesting," Atobe spoke aloud, savoring each and every syllable. "Interesting."

Airi shot him a confused look. "What?"

He ruffled her hair without taking his eyes off the figure below. "Nothing you need to worry about, Airi. But if I were you, I'd watch out for these two. They're both quite…dangerous, let's say."

 **~xXx~**

Later that afternoon, when most had already left and the locker room was deserted, Erena, Shun, and Tsukiko were busy finalizing the team.

"So," Tsukiko said, clicking her pen open. "We take the top player from all four blocks first, and it looks like that's you two, Yuuka, and Yoshida Airi-san," she recited as she wrote the names down. "Then there's me, the captain, and I think after her match with you today, Shun-san, Katsura-san's a definite choice."

Shun, who still seemed a bit frazzled after he last match, simply nodded, her mouth pursed in a thin line. She had won her match 7-5, but Erena could tell that the vice-captain was not happy about it. And if Erena were in her place, she honestly wouldn't be happy, either.

"That's six," Erena joined in, hoping to dispel the dissatisfied air surrounding Shun. "Hayashi-san beat everyone in C besides Yuuka, so she should also be on the team."

"Agreed," Tsukiko nodded as she scribbled down Anna's name next. "And for the last place…well, I think we should choose Chizuru-chan."

"Sure," Shun agreed at the exact same moment Erena said, "No."

Tsukiko lifted a brow in skepticism. "Beg pardon, Erena? Why not put her on? She got second in her block," the captain pointed out, her voice unusually icy.

Erena hesitated. She knew that Tsukiko had a soft spot for demure, quiet Kataoka Chizuru, and Erena liked the second year enough. But it was just…Chizuru lacked so much that she would need to really thrive. She was consistent, but played as a pusher and didn't have the confidence to hit winners. It wasn't just that, either, but also the fact that Erena didn't know if Chizuru could handle the load. Being on the tennis team was a big commitment for Hyotei students, and Chizuru already had so many other commitments—piano, her academics, track, and whatever else she happened to load upon herself. Erena was worried about the younger girl, pacing around with trepidation when the day came that she would burn out.

"I think Kataoka should be with us," Shun spoke up for the first time. As the former track star, Shun had been on the track team with Chizuru for years. "She's definitely a ways behind the rest of us, yes, but she's got the drive to get better."

"I'm not denying her work ethic," Erena hastily interjected. With two against one, all of her efforts would be futile, but she wanted to get her point in anyway. "I just don't know if she herself can handle all the stress. Look at her already—every time I see her she looks like she's about to fall over. Does she really need to deal with one more thing on top of all that?"

Tsukiko's eyes softened for a moment, and then just turned plain sad. "I think," she said quietly, "that Chizuru-chan signed up believing that she can handle it. And maybe she's wrong, but I'm not going to insult her by telling her what she can and can't do. Right now, the results say that she can do it. What happens in the future…well, I guess that's up to her."

Erena wanted to protest, but she supposed that Tsukiko was right. "Fine," she sighed, slumping back against the wall. "Then that's our team."

 **~xXx~**

"A moment please, Katsura Ikue," Atobe stopped the violet-eyed girl on her way out the school gate. "I'd like to discuss something with you, if you don't mind."

Ikue kept her calm composure, her face smooth and neutral the whole time. "Yes?" Her voice was huskier than he'd expected, but still distinctly soft. She wore white converse, but they were so doodled on in black ink that it took Atobe a while to recognize the brand.

 _An artist?_ "You can really play so much better, can't you, Katsura-san?" Atobe demanded, choosing to get straight to the point. He took a step closer to her, said to her unflinching eyes, "You could plow Himura straight to the ground, and yet you didn't. So I would like to know why."

"Oh really?" Ikue replied, only one corner of her mouth lifting upwards. "And why would you assume that, Atobe-san? I don't believe we've ever spoken before, so what makes you think you know?"

It was interesting, Atobe mused. He was used to words just like those, but in a more sarcastic, accusatory tone. But Ikue didn't appear to be either. She was elusive, but not cruel, mysterious, but not cold.

With a slight shake of his head, Atobe continued, said, "Interestingly enough, Katsura-san, it is because I don't know that makes me believe I am correct."

Ikue tilted her head to the side, and he caught sight of the blue and green stripes on the underside of her hair. "Maybe you're not always right," she smiled ruefully, breaking her detached front for the first time. "But I supposed you are, this time at least."

Atobe wanted to ask more, wanted to know more about this girl. So she had thrown the match on purpose, but why? What would she gain from that? Why did she care so little about winning? What was that half-smirk thing she did so often?

But then he saw a figure standing by the school, and all his words were shoved back down his throat. Even after all the hatred, all the anguish, he would still choose that figure standing in the fading light over anyone else. Anyone.

He dipped his head politely to Ikue. "I'm sorry for the abruptness, Katsura-san, but I'll have to end the conversation for the day. I have another matter to attend to."

Ikue's gaze flickered over to where he was looking at. She nodded knowingly, said, "Well then, I suppose you do," with a certain type of refined, enigmatic air that he wasn't aware existed.

Then again, he supposed it didn't matter at this moment in time. Without another word, he strode past her to reach another.

 **~xXx~**

"Keigo," she said, lifting her chin just the slightest.

Atobe had no idea if that gesture was out of contempt or not, but he chose to ignore it. "Yuuka," he greeted back, lowering his head respectfully.

He hadn't seen her up close since they'd broken up—sure, he occasionally saw her in the halls at school or during practice, but this was their first conversation in three weeks. She looked the same as always with her flashy purple to pink ombre hair and cold green eyes, but it suddenly dawned upon Atobe how short she actually was. What, was she maybe five-two, perhaps five-three? He'd never noticed, considering how it always felt like she was the one looking down on him.

"What do you want?" Atobe demanded, not quite sure he trusted that look in her eyes. "Here to taunt me over the way things ended? If so, that would be terribly naïve and childish of you."

Yuuka shrugged. She glanced over to the gate, where Katsura Ikue was making her way out, the blue and green on the underside of her ponytail flashing in the fading light. "Katsura, huh?" Yuuka commented, smiling just the slightest bit. "Makes sense."

Atobe felt the blood rise to his face. "Does it?" He snapped with more force than necessary. "Or is this just you trying to get under my skin?"

"So would that be working?" She shot back, dodging the question as easily as a spring breeze. "Because you seem pretty pissed off right about now."

Gritting his teeth, Atobe resisted the urge to grab her by the collar and throw her away to the next country. "This conversation is pointless," he declared, turning his back to her so he could leave. "I'd rather not deal with you right now."

"Right," Yuuka's lazy drawl caused him to stiffen on the spot. "Of course you don't, because why else would you come over here when you were just in the middle of talking to a pretty girl?"

Atobe scoffed. Without facing her, he replied, "If I knew the answer myself, I'd say it. But I don't, for once. Count yourself lucky on that, Yuuka."

"But don't you know, darling Keigo," her voice echoed past him. "I have no luck."

 **~xXx~**

As usual, Shishido was the last one in the male changing room. Unlike some of the others who rushed to shower and change so they could get home, Shishido preferred to take a long run around the vast school grounds first and then head back.

Faintly, he heard the door to the room open. Figuring that it was just Mukahi or Jirou, Shishido didn't bother turning to look.

And then, he suddenly felt an arm loop around his neck at the same time a hand covered his eyes. "Guess who," an unmistakable voice laughed when he jumped in shock.

Shishido smiled just a little bit, shaking his head in disbelief. "Didn't you have a date today, Sorano?" he reminded, not yet ready to get out of her grip. They rarely hugged and usually weren't the type of people to initiate physical contact. So this now, although a bit strange, felt nice.

"Well, about that," Tsukiko's voice was playful as she finally removed her hand from over his eyes so she could sit down next to him. "I told Naito that we should postpone it. You know, because I'm just _so_ busy with tennis and all."

Her smile was so genuine, so unforced, that it took all of Shishido's strength not to beam back. Instead, he shook his head again in amusement this time, said, "It's just a dinner, Sorano, my mom would understand if you'd rather go on that date with Naito," he pointed out.

"And it's just a date, Shishido-kun. Naito's fine with a little rain check. Now come on, it's been a while since I've last had your mom's cooking," Tsukiko tugged him up by his wrist again like she'd done earlier that morning. "You wouldn't keep a girl waiting, would you?" she teased.

"No," Shishido agreed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. _You are entirely too good to be true._ "I guess not."

She held onto his wrist until they passed the school gate, then dropped it when other people appeared on the streets and sidewalk. But he could still feel her slender fingers long after she'd let go, and when their elbows brushed countless times over dinner that night, he wondered what it would be like to hold her hand.

 **~xXx~**

The next morning, a large crowd gathered around the athletics bulletin board in anticipation for the results. Airi used her shorter height to her advantage as she squeezed through the throng, only a little nervous to find out her fate.

 ** _Hyotei Academy Girls' Tennis Team_**

 _Sorano Tsukiko, captain (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Himura Shun, vice-captain (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Fukumitsu Erena (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Akechi Yuuka (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Katsura Ikue (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Hayashi Anna (3_ _rd_ _year)_

 _Yoshida Airi (2_ _nd_ _year)_

 _Kataoka Chizuru (2_ _nd_ _year)_

With a grin, Airi privately congratulated herself. Sure, she was happy and pleased with herself for making the team, but that was only half the battle. She didn't know any of the third years, but Airi made it a goal for herself for to become better with their help. After winning titles on the London Junior Circuit, Airi knew that the only way to get away was to make friends.

She stole a glance over to her left, where Kataoka Chizuru was staring at the lineup with an open mouth. Chizuru was, without a doubt, surprised to see her name, and for that Airi reached over and gave her a hug. The other girl stiffened for a brief moment, before relaxing.

This, Airi thought, was going to be a great year.

* * *

 **~xXx~**

 **End**

 **~xXx~**

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry this chapter took so long! And, well, that's really I can say about that matter.

As you can see, there are some small changes here. Ikue's name has been changed from Shiina Ikue to Katsura Ikue, which is really just a preference thing for me. She's a bit different from how you may remember, but she's still Ikue through and through.

Anyway, please review and follow if you like what you're reading! I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner, but no promises.

Love, Cara


	3. Some Tricks Up My Sleeve For Noticing Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi.

* * *

 **~xXx~**

 _"Baby, there's a shark in the water_

 _There's something underneath my bed_

 _Oh, please believe I said_

 _Baby, there's a shark in the water_

 _I caught them barking at the moon_

 _Better be soon."_

—VV Brown, _Shark in the Water_

 **~xXx~**

* * *

Humming along to the jazzy song on the radio, Ikue simultaneously brushed her hair while slipping on her converse. After double-checking to make sure that there was a hair tie on each wrist, she tied her shoes and picked up her bag to head out.

"Morning, Ikue," her father, Katsura Kazuki called over his cup of coffee. His black hair and green eyes didn't match his daughter's, but Ikue knew that they had the same facial structure, the same smile.

"Good morning," she greeted back, stopping to give him a hug. "Did Hotaka leave already?" Ikue glanced around the room for her second dad, but couldn't find him.

Kazuki's face softened immediately at the mention of the other man. "Yeah, he had to open up early today. But he'll be home first tonight, so don't worry about waiting for me."

"Gotcha," Ikue nodded, briefly grinning up at Kazuki. "Well, I should probably get going. Early morning practice and all that stuff."

After saying goodbye, she headed out the door, her completely doodled-on white converse gleaming in the sunlight.

 **~xXx~**

Shishido's morning was already off to a shitty start.

First, he'd woken up to find that he couldn't shower because his idiot older brother had accidentally locked himself in and passed out on the bathroom floor. After that whole ordeal was figured out—which involved lots of pounding on the door, blaring loud music, and general cussing—he found out that _some_ idiot had used up all the soap. Then they ran out of tea for breakfast, which was pretty much the breaking point.

And then the biggest insult of all happened. There was a knock on the door, which he naturally assumed to be Tsukiko. But when Shishido swung open the door, he was met with a head of tousled blond hair and distinctly masculine brown eyes. Naito Yoshiyuki. Last year's class rep, top goalkeeper on the soccer team, rumored to have been offered multiple modeling contracts, and so unable to be hated because of his genuinely kind and humble personality.

He was also the guy that Tsukiko had postponed her date with so she could have dinner with the Shishidos the previous night. For that, Shishido felt just a little smug, like he had some kind of edge he knew didn't really exist.

Naito looked equally surprised to find Shishido on the other side. "Oh shit, sorry, I thought this was Sorano-san's house," he apologized in embarrassment.

Shishido studied him as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. For some inexplicable reason—screw that, the reason was perfectly explainable, actually—Shishido wanted to hate him, but knew that that wouldn't be fair. Naito hadn't done anything wrong, after all. It was the person he'd fallen for that made it wrong in Shishido's mind.

With a sigh, Shishido pointed to the next house. "She lives in the next one over," he explained, resisting the urge to straight up lie. "Tell her that I already left," Shishido added, stepping past Naito and breaking out in a jog.

He knew he was being childish, but everything was so goddamn annoying for no goddamn reason. _I really shouldn't fucking care_ , he thought with every step he pounded onto the sidewalk.

 **~xXx~**

"If you would so care to not scowl at me right now, Anna-chan, I'd very much appreciate that," Oshitari commented as he sat down at their desk without even glancing her way.

Out of sheer spite, Anna's scowl only deepened. Rather than being annoyed or frustrated, Oshitari merely smiled at her insistence on not listening to him.

Really, he found it all rather amusing. A bit cute, too.

It was a shame that someone so beautiful had to be so, so cold. Oshitari appreciated beauty in all its forms, whether it be the warm, gentle prettiness of Tsukiko and the model-esque elegance of Erena, and he supposed that Hayashi Anna was somewhere in between the two. She wasn't quite as tall, but her golden hair would make even princesses envious, and her facial structure was positively exquisite. And despite the hostility in her eyes, Oshitari rather liked their hazel color.

As if she had somehow sensed that he was studying her appearance, Anna turned to face him with a steely glare. "What?" She demanded, the frost evident in her voice. "Do you have anything else to say to me?"

It was all rather amusing, to be honest. Oshitari smirked, said, "You tell me, Anna-chan. Is there something you want me to say to you?"

Anna's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Not particularly," she responded flatly. "Other than telling you to fuck off, of course."

Oshitari let out a low whistle, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Well aren't you feisty."

Normally, Oshitari didn't make it a habit to act this infuriating. He liked to tease girls, sure, but not to this degree. There was just something about Hayashi Anna that made him want to see how far it would take before she snapped, to test just how short her patience ran. Perhaps it was because there was a part of him that felt he should hate her—hate her and all her golden-haired, hostile-eyed beauty represented. Someone with her looks should have been prissy and spoiled, who looked down upon those she didn't find worthy. Oshitari hated those people most of all, because he knew that sometimes he turned into one of them. But more than that, he just found her interesting, and maybe he could never hate someone like her after all.

Distantly, he wondered what had happened in her life that made her so hostile, so frosty. Or perhaps nothing had happened after all, and that was just how she was. Either way, he wanted to know.

"Did you know," he changed the topic before she could reply to his earlier comment. "Atobe and Sorano are planning for us to play some mixed doubles today. Interesting, huh?"

"Mmm," Anna responded, glancing at him suspiciously from her hazel eyes. Suddenly, she smirked, leaned closer and said, "Thanks for the heads up. Now I know who not to pick as my partner."

Oshitari laughed. "Someone knows how to flatter a man."

"What man?" She deadpanned, but he caught the brief smile on her lips nonetheless.

 _Aha. Gotcha._

Perhaps figuring out Hayashi Anna would take longer than he'd expected, but Oshitari didn't mind. He was a patient man, and patience would ultimately come to defeat hostility.

 **~xXx~**

"Katsura Ikue?" Atobe jumped at the voice next to his ear, his heart doing more leaps than a ballerina as he hastily tried to cover the screen of his computer. "Might I ask why, exactly, you're stalking her?"

Fukumitsu Erena, although deceptively polite, was not someone to take bullshit. After having known her since middle school, that much was certain. Atobe sighed as he clicked out of the browser, replied, "I'm curious about her, Fukumitsu. What, are you going to report me to Yuuka now?" He snapped defensively.

"Just who do you think I am?" Erena retorted coolly, her green eyes sharp and reprimanding. She was already taller than him by a good few inches, and when Atobe was sitting down, Erena towered over him like a skyscraper.

A skyscraper, he thought, was a rather good simile for her. She was not only sky-high in stature, but also in elegance and deception and demeanor and so many other characteristics. None of the other girls could even come close to Erena's tennis skill, which even Atobe's vast prowess sometimes had difficulty countering. With her asymmetric black bob cut and forest green eyes, Atobe often found himself thinking that she looked like the epitome of a female James Bond. Or perhaps she was the villain of a Bond movie, but he couldn't really tell.

"My apologies," Atobe sighed again, rubbing at his temples. "Of course you would never do that. I'm not sure what just overcame me, but please forgive me."

Erena raised a brow. "Alright then, what's really gotten into you?" She demanded, seating herself before his desk and crossing her arms. "What happened to the confident king we used to know? Did she really turn you into this mess?"

Atobe rolled his eyes. "A woman could never do that to me," he scoffed, ignoring the frigid hand clamping around his heart. "I am my own master, Fukumitsu, and only God can judge me."

"Right," Erena nodded skeptically. "Well, once you've stopped quoting idiots on the Internet, Tsukiko and Himura will be expecting you down at the courts right after class today. We're playing mixed doubles today, in case you don't remember. And you happen to be playing against the very girl you were just stalking."

"Oh really," Atobe replied neutrally, fingers itching to reopen the browser and continue his search. He leaned forward, lowering his voice as he said, "Tell me, Fukumitsu, how much do you actually know about her? If I'm not mistaken, I happen to remember her being on the team when we were first years, but what happened last year?"

Erena pursed her lips, and in that moment she looked less like James Bond and more like a normal high school girl. "If I knew anything, I'd tell you, Atobe. But I really don't. She was always kind of there, but also not there at the same time. I don't think I've ever spoken to her more than twice."

"Interesting," Atobe muttered, tapping his fingers against his lower lip. "Did she ever give an explanation for her absence from the team last year? An injury, perhaps? Or was she traveling abroad?" He mused.

Erena laughed a little. "Sorry Atobe, but I don't know. And honestly, I think there's only one way for you to find out."

"Oh? What would that be?"

She leaned forward so their eyes were level. "Why don't you ask her yourself, you imbecile?"

Atobe paused, his mind reeling at being called an imbecile. But he supposed she was right. "Touché," he laughed, throwing his head back and laughing louder than he had in a long time. "Touché, Fukumitsu."

Erena grinned, offering him a cheeky salute. Suddenly, her expression turned much more grim. "You know, there is something about her I find pretty interesting though."

"Oh?" Atobe raised a brow. To capture the attention of Fukumitsu Erena was difficult indeed, as she was usually too busy capturing the picture and not the person. "And what would that be?"

She shrugged, said, "If she wanted to, Katsura could probably kick my ass."

 **~xXx~**

Just as Erena had promised, a joint practice was held that afternoon so the teams could play mixed doubles. According to Tsukiko, the point was to assess everyone's flexibility and skill for doubles. Atobe and Sakaki agreed with her, so random partners were made. Completely random pairs, they said. It was all drawn out of a hat, they said.

 _Bullshit_ , Oshitari thought as yet another ball went streaking just out of reach of his racquet. Random pairs, his ass.

"Game, Mukahi-Fukumitsu! 5-1!"

"Nice!" Mukahi roared, enthusiastically slapping Erena's hand. "That's another one in the bag for us!"

Oshitari very indiscreetly flipped them off, earning him a glare from the umpire. He turned to Airi, said, "Sorry, Yoshida-chan, but those two are unstoppable. How about we give up now?"

Airi nodded in agreement, tendrils of sun-kissed brown hair plastered against her face. "Sounds good," she nodded, propping her racquet up on her shoulder. With a mischievous smirk, she added, "I'll buy you dinner if you can break Mukahi-senpai's face the next time he jumps up."

"That includes dessert. I don't just go around breaking around the faces of my friends," Oshitari countered, shooting his doubles partner a dirty glare.

Playing Erena and Mukahi wasn't just difficult; it was damn near impossible. Mukahi specialized at the net and Erena could cover the entire back half in two strides. And when Erena was at the net she was tall enough to crush any attempt at a lob and had a wide enough wingspan to poach just about every cross-court shot. Secretly, Oshitari thought that Erena could probably win doubles with a monkey—as if Mukahi weren't already close enough to one.

He didn't even know how his team had managed to win a game, but he suspected that it had a lot to do with Yoshida Airi. Oshitari didn't quite know how to explain it, but she was good without seeming to be good. She was like a pocketknife ball of fire, exploding out at the most unexpected moments to poach a volley or nail a backhand. When Atobe had mentioned that he had a friend who would add a lot to the girls' team, Oshitari now knew exactly what he had been talking about.

Suddenly, Oshitari did a double take. "Excuse me, Yoshida-chan, but did you just ask me out?"

Airi grinned, the look on her face somewhere between pure mischief and natural confidence. "Depends on if you're willing to commit bodily harm for me," she replied with a cheerful wink. And with that, she jogged over to the service line, her loose braid flying.

Oshitari was left speechless. With a shake of his head, he readied his stance at the baseline, eyeing Mukahi on the opposite side of the net.

Erena served, the ball cracking across the court like lightning. But Oshitari had played with her many times before, so he prepared just in time to send his return hurtling back over the net.

"Shit!" Mukahi yelped as he just barely managed to dodge the ball that had been aimed at his stomach. If looks could kill, Oshitari would have been buried six feet under. "What the fuck was that, Yuushi? You could have fucking killed me!"

"Apologies, dearest Gakuto," Oshitari drawled, swooping low in an exaggerated bow. "But I figured you would jump, you know, like you always do. Have your reflexes gotten slower, perhaps?"

Mukahi glowered fiercely, but said no more. Behind him, Erena was chuckling to herself, covering her mouth with a hand so her doubles partner couldn't tell.

And although her back was to him, Oshitari had a strong suspicion that Yoshida Airi was laughing to herself. The thought of that was enough to make him smile.

(Naturally, they ended up losing the game and subsequently the match. Damn Erena and her lightning quick aces)

 **~xXx~**

"Yours, Ootori-kun!" Tsukiko called, swiftly shifting over to the right.

Without a moment of hesitation, Ootori took a step forward and hit a forehand down the line. Shun intercepted it, but unfortunately her return flew just out.

"Game, Ootori-Sorano! 3 all!"

Shun gritted her teeth in frustration. _Whatever you do, don't get distracted. Don't get fucking distracted,_ she scolded herself, resisting the urge to kick herself as hard as she could.

"Hey," Shishido called lowly, his brown eyes narrowed in concentration. "Try aiming for Sorano's backhand volley. She tends to swing too much on them."

"I heard that!" Tsukiko retorted, sticking her tongue out at her close friend. "And that's just blatantly not true!"

"Keep telling yourself that!" Shishido replied without even glancing her way. He focused his attention on Shun, added, "And Choutarou may have a fast serve, but he doesn't really like hitting overheads. Try to lob him if you can."

"I would do that," Shun responded dryly, well aware that she was lashing out without good reason to. "But unfortunately, Ootori is too tall for me to do that easily."

Shishido shot her an incredulous glare. "I just trying to help, since you look pretty pissed off," he snapped. "Oh wait, I forgot that that's how you always look."

The insult sent Shun reeling back. She knew that Shishido tended to be blunt and unintentionally abrasive, but that felt purposeful, and it sure as hell _hurt_.

"Whatever," Shishido shrugged, already heading for the net. "Come on Himura, let's do this."

It was Shun's turn to serve, but she was only dimly aware of what was going on. All she could do was stare at the back of Shishido's head—that goddamn backward blue cap—and before she could stop herself, she aimed her serve, the ball cracking through the air.

"Shishido-san!" Ootori called out in shock as the third year fell forward, hitting his forehead against the net as he stumbled. "Shishido-san, are you okay?" Ootori repeated, rushing forward to tend to his upperclassman.

Tsukiko, however, beat him to it, hopping over the net and yanking off Shishido's hat. She bit her lip when she felt his hair, said, "There's already a bump forming over here, and he cut his forehead on the net. I'll take him to the infirmary, but can you tell Sakaki-sensei, Ootori-kun?" Without waiting for a reply, she looped Shishido's arm around her shoulder, supporting him as she led him back inside the school.

"Got it!" Ootori called after her, his amber eyes widened with concern. Then he turned on Shun, said, "Himura-senpai…you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Numbly, Shun barely managed to lift her head up and down. She stared down at her feet, where the ball had rolled its way back over to her. The same ball she'd sent to the back of Shishido's head.

 _He didn't deserve that. I overreacted. What the hell is wrong with me?_

Hesitantly, Ootori placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why would you do that, Himura-senpai? Did he say something mean to you? Because I think you know that he doesn't intend to come off as harsh, and—"

"I _know_ ," Shun groaned, clenching her hands into fists so tight that her knuckles turned white. Before she could stop herself, the words were already spilling out of her mouth like a river. "I know he doesn't mean any harm, but he's just Shishido and even though he's so goddamn stubborn and arrogant he still has her, and I don't want to be jealous of someone like him but that's how things just happened to be."

Only too late did she realize that she'd revealed too much—far, far too much, in fact. Ootori's expression shifted from confused to wide-eyed realization to pity. He reached for her shoulder again and opened his mouth to say something, but Shun's icy glare silenced him.

"This never happened," she ordered, the franticness roaring through her bloodstream. "Okay, Ootori? You did not hear me say anything. Alright?"

She didn't bother waiting for an answer. Without another word, she tossed her racquet in the general direction of her bag and stalked over to the water fountain.

 **~xXx~**

Shishido pressed the ice pack to the back of his head as Tsukiko wiped at the cut on his forehead, her slender fingers holding the side of his head in place. Although it wasn't a particularly bad position, Shishido had to admit the whole situation was rather embarrassing, as well as totally confusing.

"Why the fuck did she hit me," he grumbled, gripping the ice pack tightly in his fist. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Tsukiko laughed. "You probably offended her without meaning to. In case you haven't noticed, you do that a lot," she teased. She set down the cloth and as she bent over to get some bandages, she commented, "I've gotten pretty used to it since we were seven, but not everyone has."

"You've also never pegged me with your serve before," Shishido pointed out.

"And that," Tsukiko countered without batting an eye. "Is because I know you. But not everyone does, so you should think of what you say before you say it."

Shishido fell silent at that. After she finished applying the bandage on his forehead, they sat side by side on the cot, the space between them gaping and small at the same time.

"So," Tsukiko spoke up at last, running a hand through her blood red hair. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"No?" Shishido glanced up in surprise. "Why?"

She shrugged, said, "Naito-kun told me that you went ahead today, so I was just wondering if I did something to annoy you. I was pretty surprised when Nishiko announced that there was a 'hot guy' at the door, since she usually isn't so kind about you."

The corner of her eyes crinkled a little when she smiled her dimpled smile, and it took everything Shishido had not to smile back. "He wanted to walk with you, so I figured I'd do you both a favor."

"That's stupid," she laughed, flicking her wrist against his arm. "Naito-kun's sweet, but you didn't have to do that. Next time you should just tell me, okay?"

 _Next time, huh?_ "Sure," he replied, finally allowing himself to smile back at her, however fixed it may be. "Yeah, I can do that much."

 _You are entirely too good for this world._

 **~xXx~**

Yuuka knew that most people hated her. Hell, she even hated herself the majority of the time, but she'd learned to ignore it all a long time ago.

She and Kabaji had finished their doubles match against Chizuru and Jirou fairly quickly, and immediately after shaking their opponents' hands, Yuuka sauntered over to the first court, where the only remaining match was being played.

 _So it's you, Keigo?_ She thought with a twisted smirk. _Isn't it always you?_

"Hey," Erena called, waving her over to the bleachers. The taller girl had her ever-present camera around her neck, no doubt poised to take pictures of the action. "It's a pretty tight match," she said when Yuuka joined her. "But I think they're close to finishing."

"Mmm," Yuuka nodded, her eden eyes glued to the court. Atobe was partners with the golden haired Hayashi Anna, while their opponents were Hiyoshi and Katsura Ikue. If Yuuka had to guess, Atobe was by far the most dominant player of the match, and Anna was certainly no pushover herself, but Hiyoshi's determination and Ikue's wickedly tricky play style were giving the pair quite a bit of trouble.

Yuuka observed with a hawk's eye as Katsura Ikue prepared to serve. Contrary to popular belief, while most people hated Yuuka, she did not hate most in return. She found them to be rather amusing, in fact, and preferred to analyze rather than befriend. But people didn't like being analyzed, didn't like to have all of their faults picked apart. Yuuka unnerved them in that way, because all she could see were what they did wrong, every little flaw they had that made them act the way they did.

Perhaps, she mused, perhaps that was why Atobe had taken a particular liking to her all the way back in middle school. They had been in their third year when he'd approached her after practice one afternoon, asking if she wouldn't mind accompanying him to dinner. She'd said yes out of nothing but curiosity, and then one dinner happened to turn into two and a half years. Yuuka supposed that even Atobe Keigo—the greatly revered, widely loved King Atobe—loved her for the way she could only see flaws, because even royalty needed criticism at some point.

 _Well,_ she thought in the current time as she watched him standing in ready position at the baseline. _Didn't quite work out for either of us, huh?_

Ikue's serve had a bit of a sneaky little kick to it, but after being rivals with Echizen Ryoma for years, Atobe didn't have any trouble recognizing it from the motion. He sidestepped it neatly, sending a forehand just out of reach of Hiyoshi.

"Game, set, and match, Atobe-Hayashi! 7-5!"

"Oh," Yuuka murmured, raising a brow in interest. "How peculiar."

Erena lowered her camera and turned to her friend. "I'm assuming you don't mean the score, huh?" She smiled only using one corner of her mouth, a gesture Yuuka still hadn't quite deciphered in all their years of friendship.

"Not particularly," Yuuka agreed, observing as Atobe shook hands with Ikue.

The taller girl followed her gaze, pursing her lips in an amused expression. "Jealous much?"

"Not particularly," Yuuka repeated, keeping her voice devoid of all emotion. She may have stomped all over his heart when he was in a rare moment of vulnerability, but that didn't mean she didn't care about him at all.

"Mmhmm," Erena nodded. Ikue had turned away and was leaving the court, but Atobe's eyes were carefully watching her retreating figure. "So you mean you aren't at all interested in the fact that he has obviously taken up a strong curiosity in her?"

It took Yuuka a moment to respond, to which she internally cursed Erena for. She really shouldn't be intrigued by such a thing, but she just couldn't help it. It wasn't just because Atobe was her ex, but because he was Atobe and the girl was Katsura Ikue, and Yuuka would have never been able to connect the dots between them. It was strange how life worked like that, and she wanted to see how they'd draw the lines to each together, or if they would ever be able to at all.

"Not particularly," she said at last.

 **~xXx~**

"Oh?" Atobe commented casually, his voice devoid of any kind of concern. "You think Airi asked you out yesterday?"

Oshitari huffed out a sigh. "She said she would buy me dinner if I would be kind enough to commit bodily harm to Gakuto, which I admittedly did not to. Does that not sound like I was just asked out?"

Atobe shrugged, not even looking up from his book. "If you ask me, dear Oshitari, it sounds as if you're too far in your own head. Not every girl you meet instantly wants you."

"Besides," he sighed, finally glancing up and meeting Oshitari's blue gaze. "That's Airi for you. She says things that sound flirty, but doesn't normally mean anything behind them. Boys back in London always accused her of leading them on, but then they realized that's just how she talks to everyone. I wouldn't mull over it too much if I were you."

Oshitari paused. It wasn't that he was worried about it, per say, but he still felt conflicted. Yoshida Airi wasn't spectacularly good looking, but she had a smile that was as brilliant as the sun. But for some reason, he didn't think he could call her happy-go-lucky. If anything, there was a certain type of maturity to her that Oshitari didn't see in anyone else, along with a brightness that somehow fit in with that maturity. She was a funny girl, indeed.

 **~xXx~**

"Ah, Kataoka-san!"

Immediately upon hearing the voice, Chizuru cringed and quickened her steps. It belonged to none other than Yachi, the captain of the track team. She'd been in the middle of signing up for track when Shishido had pulled her out of the situation, and now she wished for nothing more than for Shishido to miraculously appear again to drag her out of this one.

A hand clapped down on her shoulder at the same time Yachi said, "Kataoka-san! Why weren't you at practice yesterday? Hamaguchi-san was looking for you, and she didn't seem very happy when you weren't there."

Chizuru awkwardly tried to duck out from his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry Yachi-senpai, but I wasn't sure if I was actually on the team or not, and we had tennis tryouts and I made it as a regular so…" She trailed off, hoping he would fill out the rest of the blanks by himself.

The ever kind, yet undoubtedly clueless Yachi blinked in confusion. "But you doubled up on clubs last year, can't you do that again this year?" He pointed out. "You're one of our most valuable members, and we can't lose you, Kataoka-san!"

"That's…very nice of you to say, Yachi-senpai," Chizuru mumbled, nervously glancing side to side in hopes of someone—preferably Shishido—swooping in to save her, but no such luck. She grimaced, mentally preparing a whole lot of rambling that would hopefully stall for time. "You know I love running and all, but I want to focus only on tennis this year. It wouldn't be good to only put in half the effort for two clubs when I can put everything into one, right?"

"So come to track," Yachi insisted, not shaken down by anything she'd just thrown at him. "You're our top distance runner, so isn't that higher than your ranking on the tennis team?"

 _Ouch_. Harmless as he may be, Yachi most certainly didn't have to word it that way. Chizuru already knew that she wasn't the best on the tennis team—not by a long shot—but she wanted to get better, so that was the reason why she chose tennis. Not because she wanted to rekindle her relationship with Ootori as Etsu claimed, nor because she was desperate to get away from Etsu.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying that no means no," a flat, unamused voice spoke up. Chizuru jerked her head up in shock upon realization at who was speaking. "You need to leave her alone, Yachi, or else I'll see to it that you will."

Standing there in all of her golden-haired glory, Hayashi Anna's hazel eyes were as freezing as ice as she glared at the track captain. Chizuru could count the number of times she'd interacted with Anna on one hand, and for the older girl to be defending her at a time like was just unheard off. _Hayashi Anna_ saving the day. Cold, hostile Hayashi Anna, whose beauty drew you in before her sharp tongue kicked you out.

Yachi appeared to be equally parts annoyed and mesmerized by Anna. "E-e-excuse me, but this is a matter that doesn't concern you," he stammered, averting his gaze as if she were too brilliant for him to look at. "Kataoka-san and I were just having a discussion about the track club, and I really think that she—"

"Shouldn't join if she doesn't want to," Anna finished, coolly tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "What you're doing right now is harassing her, and that is not okay."

By then, a crowd had gathered in the hallway, staring at Anna with fear or respect or both. "Damn, Yachi's done for," one boy snickered loudly, causing all the people around him to laugh.

Anna had clearly had enough. With an annoyed sigh, she tugged Chizuru away by the shoulder, said, "Come on, Kataoka. You should be in class right now," and promptly led her away, leaving a bewildered and thoroughly embarrassed Yachi behind.

Immediately, the whispers began, spreading like wildfire in a matter of seconds.

"He definitely deserved that."

"No, he didn't!"

"Yeah, Hayashi didn't have to be such a bitch about it. It's not even her problem, anyway."

"She was only trying to save poor little Kataoka, but she didn't have to be so mean about it."

"Idiots," Anna snapped once they'd walked out of earshot. She glared back in the direction of the crowd, muttering to herself about the stupidity of the Hyotei student population.

"Um, Hayashi-senpai," Chizuru hesitated, not quite sure how to word what she had to say. "Thanks for the help back there, but I'm sorry you had to get involved."

Anna eyed her with an unreadable expression. "I'm not," she said in return, rolling her eyes in irritation. "None of their opinions matter, because not one of them stepped in to help. If they think they're high and mighty enough to say shit about me, then let them say shit. But if they don't have the common decency to help someone out when they're being harassed, then that's not my problem," Anna shrugged, clearly unaffected by the whole situation.

Chizuru was speechless. Never before had she met someone who spoke with such fierce bluntness, and to be honest, it was all rather…exciting. Impressive too. And for some inexplicable reason, it made her feel happy.

"Anyway," Anna looked her straight in the eye this time. "I could tell you just wanted someone to come in and help you, right?" At Chizuru's nod, Anna continued, said, "Well, there's not always going to be someone there. The only way for people to start listening to you is if you let them know you don't give a damn about what other people think. I don't like giving out advice, but take it if you want."

With a final shrug, Anna squeezed Chizuru's shoulder reassuringly and walked away, her hair shining like gold.

* * *

 **~xXx~**

 **End**

 **~xXx~**

* * *

 **A/N** : This chapter is a little shorter than I'd hoped it would be, but I feel like anything more and there would have been way too much stuff going on. Sorry for the lateness, but clearly I can't make any promises I keep.

Anyway, so I've recently been seriously considering rewriting AYWI as well. There's just some plot holes that wouldn't work with LETD, and rereading it made me realize that it's kind of…immature? I think that's the best way to describe it. Yes, it's a Shitenhouji-based story, but a lot of the dialogue and scenes were just meh. I'll leave it up for now, and if I do rewrite it that won't happen for quite some time, but just a heads up.

Okay, so I'd like to hear from you in a review. 1) Which OC is your favorite so far/has made the biggest impression on you, 2) Are any of the characters unrecognizable from their _From Sky High_ counterpart? And 3) Obviously it's very early, but are there any pairings—be it platonic or romantic—that jump out at you?

Thank you so much! Please review if you like what you're reading, and be sure to check out my tumblr, too!

Love, Cara


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